What did you name your boat?

How the boat got its name: "My husband and I don't own a fancy boat. We have a paddle boat that we frequently take to New Athens. We named it 'The Wandering Parakeet' after a line from the movie, 'The Philidelphia Story.' In the movie, Jimmy Stewart's girlfriend is looking for him after a party and says, 'Where's my wandering parakeet?'"

Why a paddle boat? "We decided to get a paddle boat bacause we are avid cyclists and figured this would be fun."

How often do you use it? "We both work every other weekend, so it's hard to get away as often as we like. We try to skip town after church on the Sundays we are off. If we get out 10 times a summer, that would be great. It has been too cold to go very often this summer. I didn't think I would ever be able to say it was too cold in July to boat."

Technique? "We both have to paddle or we would go in circles."

Best part: "The steering column lifts up to reveal a cooler. We go three beers out, three beers back. If you don't close the lid quick enough, you get discombobulated.There is a shelter on top.if it is windy, watch out. We often use it to our advantage and sail back into shore."

Boat is a big hit

Boat: Yachti

Owners: Liz Taylor and Linda Hille, of Belleville

How did your boat get its name? "We have a Cardinal theme with our boat and golf cart. We rebuilt the boat from the 'toons up and, as we were driving home from the lake, I turned to Linda and I said, 'You know, we have to name the boat.' She instantly said, 'There's no question -- it will be Yadi (after her favorite player).' I told her it was fine, but it would be spelled as above. We have had the best time with this."

Comments? "We have received a lot of positive comments.When we originally did the boat, we had the Cardinal logo/stickers on it, but hadn't named the boat yet.... I found someone to make the name for me and we put it on after we had already been on the lake a few times.Once it was there, we had loud applause, whistles and laughs."

How long have you had your boat?"We got the boat late last year -- end of season. It was in dire need of repair.We took it down to our place on a Friday night -- completely stripped it down to the metal and pontoons on Saturday morning.One of our lake neighbors, Vince Reinacher, took our golf cart and boat panels home over the winter and painted them Cardinal red.This spring, we started rebuilding the boat and the pictures are of our finished product.This is the first year that we've had it to enjoy!"

Where do you usually go boating? "We have a double camping lot at Lake Perry in Perryville, Mo."

How often do you go? "Every weekend. We have missed one weekend so far this summer and hope we don't miss another. We can put it in the lake until the end of October."

Do you get comments about your name, Liz Taylor? "Only if you're over 30. Under 30, I've found that you don't really know who she is.My name was a total accident.My mother decided, when she was in high school, that she would name her daughter 'Elizabeth Ann.' When my stepdad adopted me, that's where the 'Taylor' came from.To make matters worse, they ran theaters for a living. So yes, I grew up in show biz."

Best present ever

Boat: Wing in the Water

Owners: Charlie Pitts and Annie Skaggs, of O'Fallon

Getting into sailing: "In 1991, while living in Washington, D.C., I retired from the Air Force and I got myself a present -- sailing lessons. Within a year, we and a bank co-owned a 28-foot Catalina sailboat."

Why a sailboat? "We picked the sailboat for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that this particular boat had a 'wing' keel -- it looks like an inverted T, making it about 2 feet shorter than the usual long-knife keel most sailboats have. This was important on the Chesapeake Bay, which has many very shallow tributaries. We learned to sail her the next spring, and, as a retired flier, I was amazed at how similar the two activities were."

How the boat got its name: "One day after a particular sporty sail, I commented to my wife, 'Sailing is just like flying, but with one wing in the water.' As we were discussing names for our still unnamed boat a couple of hours later, she said, "You know, I like the name 'Wing in the Water.' Voila!"

Do you still have Wing in the Water? "We are currently between boats (sigh!) but there may be a kayak in the future."

How was learning to sail? "Learning to sail was easy. Learning to dock, to anchor, to remove crab pot lines from the prop, how to prep for a hurricane, and where the channels on the bay were -- much more difficult. So was rowing the dog ashore every morning and night. But sailing on a broad reach in a 12-knot breeze into the setting sun on a late summer's eve with wine glass in hand -- unforgettable!"

Wet and wild

Boat: Liquid fun

Owner: Gary and Kathy Kerksick, of Trenton

How did it get its name? "Actually it didn't take long to name the boat for our family has always had fun tubing and water skiing and just enjoying the water, so the name for the boat was perfect."

Where do you go boating? "Mainly at the Lake of the Ozarks."

What kind of boat is it? "A 2004 Crownline Model 270BR. I have had the boat for 5 years."

Any good stories? "The funniest stories of all are watching people load their boats on a trailer at the boat ramp.I've seen everything from hip boots to boats loaded on the trailer sideways. One I'll never forget is a lady loading a fishing boat on a trailer. She was driving the boat and gave ittoo much gas and the boat went up onto the trailer and kept going into the bed of the truck. Needless to say, her husband was a little upset."

Gimme a break

Boat: Interlude

Owners: Bill and Lisa Burnworth, of Belleville

What kind of boat: "A 1987 Chris Craft Catalina. This is our 9th summer with the boat."

How it got its name: "We named his boat after a song Bill liked while in college," said Lisa. "When he looked up the meaning of the song's title, 'Interlude,' it meant 'a break in time.' Bill thought this would be a great name for a boat."

Twenty years after college, he bought a boat for himself and his family, and they take time out of their daily routine to relax and enjoy "a break in time" at the Lake of the Ozarks.

How often do you go boating? "We try to go every weekend if possible up to, during and after the summer as long as the weather permits. We enjoy being together; relaxing and spending time with our three children, Brad, 20; Ross, 18; and Page, 15. We have heard that a family who plays together stays together, and it is ringing true for our family."

The name fits

Boat: Jere Rig II

Owner: Jere Gainey, of Belleville

How it got its name: "About 19 years ago, my boyfriend Jeff Paul and I were at the Lake of the Ozarks with friends, who owned a boat Jeff said that if he ever owned a boat he would name it the 'Jere Rig.'About 5 years later, we did buy a boat. Now, we own 'Jere Rig II."

Where do you usually go boating? "I have a condo at the Lake of the Ozarks and that is where the boat stays all year. We have a boat dock and lift."

How often do you go boating? "Since we have a condo at Lake of the Ozarks, we go as often as we can."

What do you like about it? "The boat is just plain fun. We have friends and family down and really enjoy the lake and the boat."

Wanna get away?

Boat: On Lake Time

Owners: Kevin and Kathy Kosydor

Where they boat: Lake of the Ozarks.

What they like about it: "For us, boating and being on the lake is a relaxing time, free from the hectic schedules of everyday life."

i

Boat: It's a Sinn II

Owners: Larry and Debbie Sinn.

What they like about boating: "Just being out here is kind of freeing, the atmosphere, the camaraderie," said Debbie, of the boat that's docked in West Alton, Mo. "We had no telephones till 10 years ago."

"It's a clubhouse away from home, only 45 minutes away," said Larry.

How often do you go out on the boat? "We haven't been out this year yet," said Larry in early August. "We're going to Kentucky Lake in two weeks. Down the Mississippi to the Ohio and up the Tennessee River. Three boats are going together. It will take three days. We'll spend the first night on the Kaskaskia River. We plan for fuel where you are going to stop and spend the night."

How many gallons does the boat hold? "600. Going down, we'll use about 300."

What Debbie likes: "It gives us some quiet time together. I'm sure quiet's the right word though. We're just away from hustle and bustle, away from every day life, but with good friends.

How Debbie got interested in boats: My parents had runabouts since I was born. Our camping was in tents."

Another Sinn: "My dad had a tavern in Darmstadt," said Larry. "Sinn's Inn."